Deakin University

Deakin University - School of Life and Environmental Sciences and BioDeakin
The School of Life and Environmental Sciences harbors a wide-ranging research portfolio, covering areas as diverse as plant biotechnology, biochemistry, ecology, synthetic chemistry, evolutionary biology, cancer, trace metal biology, toxicology, bioinformatics and forensic science. This is conducted by over 20 academic staff working individually or as part of various groupings, many of which sit under the umbrella of one of Deakin University's Priority Research Areas called "BioDeakin".

BioDeakin is a new whole-of-university initiative, created to advance scholarship, research and teaching across a range of applied biotechnology areas. This multi-disciplinary grouping of scientists encompasses the University's strengths in bio-medical and bio-health sciences, plant and aquatic biology, biotechnology, bio-processing, biotech management, bio-informatics and bio-ethics.

Deakin University - Centre for Material and Fibre Innovation
One of the most active research groups, with a strong interest in the biological applications of advanced materials, is the Materials Research Group, led by Prof Peter Hodgson. This group is conducting research in collaboration with Barwon Health using advanced materials in the application of prosthetics. The Geelong based group has considerable skills in materials science, which originated from the automotive, steel and textiles industries and is now being applied in advanced clinical applications in conjunction with medical researchers. The aim is to produce high value added materials and prosthetic implants created by using advanced manufacturing technologies.

The Fibres and Materials team led by Professor Xungai Wang is actively exploring new applications of materials and expertise that was originally developed in traditional industries. The group is collaborating with Barwon Health and with CSIRO TFT in the application of wool fibres for bio medical use and in deriving proteins from animal fibres.

Deakin University - Analytical Chemistry
Deakin University has a strong analytical chemistry group under the leadership of Professor Neil Barnett. There are approximately thirty-three chemistry researchers amongst Prof Barnett's group and those of his colleagues, which includes academics, research fellows, PhD and Honours students. Prof Barnett's group is working on a range of applications in forensic science and in chemical detection, both of these are growth areas. They have interests in chemiluminescence detection, chromatography and spectroscopy for application to a variety of compounds. They are also working in the area of nanotechnology to build "lab on a chip" devices for use in field applications.

For further information on Deakin University please visit: www.deakin.edu/research